


Spare a Thought for the Morning

by slightlytookish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-16
Updated: 2011-04-16
Packaged: 2017-10-18 03:26:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/184478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is determined and Gwaine has never been very good at self-control anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spare a Thought for the Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Contains drunkenness and references to bondage.

They were halfway up the stairs leading to the knights' quarters when Merlin started singing again.

It was the same song he'd picked up at the tavern, an old bawdy thing about lusty knights who made good use of their lances (in every sense of the word). He'd been singing it off and on all evening and the song was the reason why Gwaine was dragging Merlin to his chambers now instead of returning him to his own room, where Gaius' disapproving eyebrow undoubtedly awaited them.

Besides, he had more pressing concerns at the moment. Like the fact that Merlin's voice was echoing loudly off the stone walls, and Gwaine knew that if any of the other knights were still awake (and how could they sleep through this racket?) they would mercilessly tease them both about this in the morning.

"Shh," he said, giving Merlin a gentle nudge, but Merlin was so unsteady on his feet that he stumbled and dragged Gwaine down with him. For one terrifying moment Gwaine imagined them tumbling headlong down the stairs but somehow he managed to grab the railing in time and kept them both from plummeting to their deaths.

They still landed on their arses, but Gwaine pulled Merlin close and carefully edged them along the step until he was seated with his back pressed safely against the wall. Then, with his heart still racing, he looked over at Merlin to make sure he was all right.

In the flickering torchlight he saw that Merlin was apparently unperturbed by their near fall. He was flushed and smiling even though his eyelids were drooping sleepily, and seeing him like that made Gwaine feel ridiculously fond. Even though he knew that he shouldn't he raised a hand to Merlin's cheek and stroked it softly. "I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

Merlin leaned in to his touch. "Mmm," he said, nuzzling his fingers. His hand reached up to encircle Gwaine's wrist and hold him in place and Merlin smiled again, looking utterly content. "I'm fine. I have you." Then he turned his head and sucked one of Gwaine's fingers into his mouth.

Gwaine snatched his hand away and staggered to his feet. He wasn't drunk enough for _that_. "Up you go," he said, pulling Merlin up to stand beside him. Merlin laughed and wobbled uncertainly for a moment before throwing his arms around Gwaine's waist and burying his face in Gwaine's neck. Then he began to sing again, very softly, so that every hot burst of breath drifted across Gwaine's skin and made him shiver in delight.

Gwaine squeezed his eyes shut and called on every bit of restraint he could muster. Admittedly it wasn't much because Gwaine had never been very good at self-control, but this was _Merlin_ and he'd do anything to protect him, even if it meant protecting him from himself. Then he opened his eyes, took a deep steadying breath, and went back to helping Merlin up the stairs.

Merlin waited until they'd climbed precisely three steps before he began kissing and licking at Gwaine's neck.

His stubble tickled, and so did his tongue, and Gwaine knew he shouldn't be laughing, not if he wanted to discourage Merlin, but he couldn't help it, especially not when Merlin sucked at a spot just below his jaw.

"Stop that," he said, trying to squirm away whilst still holding on to Merlin so that he wouldn't fall again. But Merlin clung to him and Gwaine could feel his grin pressing against his neck and, really, this was just _unfair_.

Somehow they managed to climb the rest of the steps and made it safely into Gwaine's room. A servant must have been in not long ago because there was a fire roaring in the hearth and the windows were closed but the curtains had been thrown open to let in the moonlight, making the room seem warm and bright despite the late hour. There was plenty of light for Gwaine to guide Merlin to his bed, and once he had him settled he glanced up and saw that Merlin was staring intently at something just beyond his left ear.

"Your hair is really shiny," he said, clumsily reaching up to touch it. His fingers were surprisingly gentle as they slowly combed through his hair, but their touch sent something sharp and shivery down Gwaine's spine nonetheless. "And swishy. Gwaine, why is your hair so swishy?"

He sounded so genuinely interested that Gwaine couldn't help but laugh again. He didn't know how Merlin had got himself this drunk - they'd only had the one flagon of wine between them, after all, and Gwaine had drank most of it himself - but he knew that Merlin must have been pretty far gone if he was talking about his hair, of all things. "Come on, you. Time for bed."

Merlin stayed silent (and mercifully kept his hands to himself) as he allowed Gwaine to tug off his boots and his jacket and pull the blanket up to his chin. But as soon as Gwaine turned to go, intending to curl up by the fire for the night, an arm snaked out of the blanket and yanked him down onto the bed.

"Oof," Gwaine said, rubbing his head where it had smacked against the headboard. He tried to pull away but suddenly Merlin was there, crawling over him and pressing him down into the mattress and kissing him and kissing him until he couldn't breathe anymore.

"You little minx," Gwaine said after he'd caught his breath. He wriggled out from underneath Merlin, resolutely ignoring the way his cock was clamouring for attention, and rolled onto his side to face him. His eyes raked over Merlin's face, taking note of the bright spots of colour high on his cheekbones, his heavy-lidded eyes, his kiss-swollen lips, and he sighed, feeling utterly doomed. "If this is what just one goblet of wine does to you, Merlin, I'm glad I drank the rest of the flagon."

"It's not the wine," Merlin said, untangling himself from the blanket and kicking it to the end of the bed. "It's just. _You_. It's you." And then he slipped his hand into Gwaine's trousers.

Gwaine let his head flop onto the pillow and laughed helplessly. And then he groaned, because where had Merlin's fingers learned how to do _that_?

As much as he wanted to discover everything else that Merlin knew how to do, he forced himself to push his hand away. His hips, apparently having lost all contact with his brain, gave one last hopeful thrust before sinking back against the mattress in disappointment.

But not as disappointed as Merlin looked, if his pouting expression was anything to go by. "Gwaine! What did you do that for?"

"Because I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "How could I regret this? I think the wine addled _your_ head tonight." His hand once more disappeared into Gwaine's trousers.

"Oi!" Gwaine said, pushing him away. "Do I have to tie you up?"

Merlin moaned loudly, a wordless, needy sound that went straight to Gwaine's groin.

"Yes, please," he said, eagerly bucking his hips. "Here, you can use my scarf." He reached up to untie it but Gwaine caught his wrists and held him still, gentle but firm.

"Merlin. _Merlin._ Listen to me. You're the greatest friend I've ever had. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Except for this."

Merlin's brows drew together. "Not - ever?" he asked quietly. "Is that what you mean?"

"No," Gwaine said. He couldn't deny it anymore and really, he didn't want to. He let go of Merlin's wrists and took hold of his hands instead, lifting first one and then the other to his lips for a kiss. "That's not what I mean at all."

"Then what?" Merlin said, sounding just as frustrated and desperate as Gwaine felt. "What's stopping you?"

"The fact that you might not remember any of this in the morning. Or," and Gwaine hated to admit this but it was what he feared more than anything, "You might not want it at all, when you're thinking more clearly."

Merlin gave his hands a squeeze. "Of course I will. Want it and remember it, I mean."

"Then tell me in the morning," Gwaine said, trying for one of his usual easy grins and hoping the result wasn't too far off the mark.

Merlin dropped his hands and flopped onto his back, sighing dramatically, but he was smiling too, just a bit. "Believe me, I will." His eyelids were drooping again, and he rubbed at them tiredly. "You'll still stay, won't you?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Gwaine promised. He let Merlin burrow close, curling around him with one arm slung around his waist and his nose nudging Gwaine's collarbone. Merlin grew quiet then, and still, and it didn't take very long before he fell asleep.

Gwaine lay there for a long while afterward, resolutely not thinking about the morning and what Merlin might or might not want to do then. He'd never been the sort of person to worry about the future and he told himself that he wasn't going to start now. Instead he determinedly closed his eyes and let Merlin's soft breaths and the warmth of his body eventually lull him to sleep

*

The sun was shining right in Gwaine's face when he woke. He could feel it pressing warm and bright against his eyelids and he judged that it must be very late in the morning, or perhaps very early in the afternoon. He wondered if Merlin was still there but before he had a chance to check he felt the bed dip beside him. A shadow fell across his face and a warm rush of _something_ made his heart leap as he opened his eyes to see Merlin leaning over him.

"Hello," he said, smiling, before he ducked his head and pressed his lips to Gwaine's.

It was nothing like the sloppy and drunken kisses they had shared the night before. Now every touch was soft and deliberate and they took their time, exploring and learning each other as their tongues licked slowly into each other's mouths. Gwaine let his hands skim down Merlin's side and up to his jaw, revelling in the fact that he could touch him now, at long last. Merlin seemed intent on doing the same as his hands curled around Gwaine's arms before sliding upwards so that his fingers could wind themselves into his hair and tug at it gently.

"I told you I'd remember," he said when they finally broke apart. He sat back on his heels and looked down at Gwaine, his expression fond. "You didn't really think I'd forget all about it in the morning, did you?"

"Well," Gwaine said, feeling a little ridiculous now that Merlin was showing no sign of going anywhere. "I wanted to be certain."

"But you see," Merlin said as he brushed a lock of hair out of Gwaine's eyes and tucked it behind his ear. "There was no chance of me forgetting because I've wanted this for a very long time."

"So have I," Gwaine admitted. He caught Merlin's hand in his own and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss across the knuckles just as he had the night before. A smile crept across Merlin's face as he remembered it too, and he pulled his hand away, letting it glide down Gwaine's torso before stopping at the hem of his shirt.

"So, if I did this now..." Watching Gwaine closely he slipped his hand beneath the shirt and traced the soft skin of one hipbone where it jutted above the waistband of his trousers. "Would it be all right?"

"More than all right." Gwaine said, giving a happy little shiver. "I'll even help you along." He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, and that was enough to convince Merlin to shed his clothes, too.

When they finished undressing Merlin swept their clothes onto the floor, all except for his scarf, which he placed on the pillow beside Gwaine's head. At Gwaine's questioning look, he smiled. "I told you, I remember everything."

Gwaine groaned. "Get up here where I can see you," he said, hauling Merlin up so that he was straddling Gwaine's hips. They kissed again, more urgently this time, and when Merlin's hands wrapped around both their cocks Gwaine decided that someday, when he could focus on anything other than _now, please_ and _yes_ , he really was going to have to ask where Merlin had learned how to do that.

But for now he held on to Merlin's hips and pulled him closer, pressing against him and pushing up into his hands. He kissed him, just as he'd wanted to kiss Merlin since they'd first met, all eager lips and tongue and teeth. And then he was coming and he let one hand drop down to join Merlin's, tangling their fingers together as he drew out the last of his orgasm and sent Merlin barrelling toward his own.

Later, when Gwaine decided he could probably move again, he fumbled for the edge of the blanket and mopped up some of the mess on his and Merlin's stomachs. It wasn't an easy task, with Merlin still lying on top of him and refusing to move, and he soon gave it up, too warm and sated and happy to bother.

"We'll take a bath later," Merlin said as if he had guessed what Gwaine was thinking. "And then-" He shifted enough to retrieve his scarf, which had fallen between the pillows, and grinned as he dropped it onto Gwaine's chest. "We'll use this."

Gwaine's cock gave an interested twitch. "Minx," he said, with feeling, and pulled Merlin close for another kiss.


End file.
